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Domain Name Audit

Domain Name Audits

By linking registrations to corporate brands and product lines, Novagraaf can help you align your domain name portfolio to your business strategy.

Overview

Why you should audit your domain names

Companies should implement the same IP management approach as used for trademarks for their domain names – starting with a thorough audit.

Given the significant role the internet plays for corporate branding, focused domain name management is arguably just as important to a company’s success as other brand protection and growth strategies. A comprehensive business-oriented domain name audit helps companies fully understand what they have, where cost savings can be realised and how to address ongoing maintenance, gaps in protection, and registration decisions in order to put the right domain name policy and strategy in place.

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Take full control of your domain name portfolio

A single domain name registration may not seem like a major expense when compared to other brand assets. However, a poorly managed portfolio can be quite costly as unnecessary annual fees accumulate.

By taking an inventory of what domain names are currently registered and mapping them to your company’s brand portfolio, you can rationalise your domain name portfolio to maximise protection while at the same time reducing aggregate and yearly renewal costs.

Benefits

Create an optimal domain name registration and renewal strategy

By linking domain name registrations to corporate brands and product lines, Novagraaf can help you build an articulated approach to registering and renewing domain names. We help clients to ensure:

Domain names accurately reflect the brand names and associated trademark registrations
There are any gaps in coverage (e.g. core brands, product lines or trademarks that do not have equivalent domain name registrations)
Domain name registrations are maintained for products or trademarks that are no longer in use; and/or
There is consistency in the registries used to register the company’s domain names (e.g. in terms of the choice between top-level (gTLD) or country-code (ccTLD) registrations).

Key features

Our methodology

Novagraaf employs a three-step process that analyses existing domain names to identify risks and opportunities; delivers the results in a way that is accessible for the entire business; and designs an implementation strategy that tackles identified vulnerabilities and establishes ongoing guidance via a domain name policy. To achieve this, your audit is expertly handled by a seasoned Novagraaf attorney who has the requisite IP, legal and specialist marketing skills.

STEP 1: Analysis

Assess and present an accurate picture of your domain name registrations to establish key patterns; for example, are some gTLD or ccTLDs more popular than others? Are some brand names better protected? Are some trademark assets covered by domain name registrations at all? Are there any domain name registrations that are active but barely used? In short, your domain name portfolio is analysed against your online presence and against your trademark portfolio during this phase.

STEP 2: Coordination

Domain name registration and maintenance decisions are not the sole responsibility of the IP department. That’s why we deliver our results in a way that also involves key stakeholders and associated departments, such as IT or marketing. Their involvement is essential especially when designing future registration strategies which require alignment with marketing and IT to achieve their potential online.

STEP 3: Implementation

In this final step, Novagraaf delivers a clear and comprehensive domain name policy and strategy that establishes short- and long-term goals and deliverables, and identifies priorities for action where vulnerabilities have been identified during the audit stage. This includes a general defence strategy, as well as specific recommendations on abandoning obsolete domain names or acquiring new ones.

Future-focused domain name auditing

With the audit complete and a domain name policy in place, you should also consider other best practices maintenance activities to ensure ongoing protection of your portfolio and the integrity of your newly established strategy.

This strategy can include putting in place a domain name watching process in order to monitor core rights online, as well as determining a defence strategy for prioritising action. Depending on the size of your portfolio, you may also wish to consider implementing a global or localised domain name monitoring service.

Our monitoring, watching and online brand protection services are a complement to the more general domain name management services we offer through our dedicated department. This includes not only filings and renewals, but also specific technical solutions. At Novagraaf, these services are all delivered by a team of experienced IP attorneys uniquely able to provide legal, administrative and commercial insights and recommendations.

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Ready to take your next step?

For more information about Novagraaf’s domain name audit or other brand services, please get in touch.

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To find out more about our services, including how we tailor our domain name solutions to your organisation's needs, please contact us.